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social

Being Social

February 2, 2018 by J.B.

Like us, chimpanzees are social primates. We look to our friends and family for comfort and companionship. We rely on our communities for protection. Our cultures provide us with the knowledge we need to survive.

The desire to be with others is so essential that it is hardwired in apes like us. Without social contact we literally go insane.

But it’s not always easy being social. It comes with a host of trade offs, where individual interests must be compromised for the good of the relationship. It brings with it opportunities for miscommunication and misinterpretation. It leads to jealousy. Cheating, stealing, and deception are all par for the course. And it almost invariably leads to conflict.

All of which are difficult waters to navigate for even the most experienced and even-tempered individual.

Now imagine being Burrito.

Taken from his mother and raised in a lab nursery. Sent to live in a human home for his most formative years. Leased to a circus. And then returned to the lab, where he would live much of his life alone or with only one other individual in a cage barely big enough to walk in.

Or imagine being Jamie.

For nine years she struggled to master the human environment, a world in which she was rewarded for mastering tricks and likely punished for failing to understand or comply. Then, like Burrito, she was ripped from that world and placed in a laboratory with her own kind – a kind that she might not have even recognized as her own – where she would remain for two decades.

It’s common knowledge in the sanctuary community that ex-pet and ex-performer primates are the most difficult to integrate. Many people think the laboratory environment is the most damaging, but at least lab chimps tend to live with other chimps when they’re not on protocol. Being raised by humans is a kind of damage they don’t recover from. It actually deprives them of resiliency. It permeates the way they think and they way they react. You can see it in the way they relate to other chimps,  and it even has a measurable physiological effect – the more time chimps spend with humans during childhood, the greater their cortisol (stress hormone) levels as adults.

Nearly every conflict at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest is instigated or at the very least amplified by Burrito or Jamie – Burrito, through his undirected and ungoverned aggression and Jamie, through her intense need to dominate, manipulate, and control. For both, their worst tendencies seem to be chronically stoked by insecurity. Granted, chimpanzees personalities are complex and influenced by many factors, but it’s hard not to see their extremes as a direct product of their histories.

Just today, a conflict broke out at lunch. It began when Jody calmly took Foxie’s lettuce. Not a nice thing to do, of course, but given their friendly and trusting relationship it would have ended there without incident. But Jamie saw it happen. And Jamie couldn’t stand the fact that Jody was getting away with it. Jamie began screaming from the playroom, which in turn got Burrito riled up. Burrito then launched himself around the room in a frenzied display, eventually slamming into Jody. For the next five minutes, all of the chimps ran throughout the playroom, front rooms, and greenhouse screaming (with the exception of Negra, who took the opportunity to eat her lettuce by herself). It was hard to tell who was chasing who near the end. Exhausted but uninjured, they finally returned to the front rooms and finished lunch.

We often talk about chimpanzee conflicts in Machiavellian terms, as though each move is premeditated and calculated to maximally derive some social gain. This kind of social behavior does occur in chimps, but many fights are about nothing of substance, as best as we can tell. Put simply, it’s hard to be social, and even harder for those whose social lives didn’t even begin until they were young adults.

Fortunately for Burrito and Jamie, the benefit of their presence in the group far outweighs the stress they cause, and the group in turn gives them something they deserved but never had: a messy, loving, quarreling, comforting chimpanzee family.

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Burrito, Fights, Jamie Tagged With: atypical rearing, chimpanzee, conflict, entertainment, fight, histories, humans, northwest, rescue, Sanctuary, social

Introductions

January 22, 2016 by J.B.

Introductions. In the chimp sanctuary world, no word is as simultaneously exciting and terrifying.

Introductions occur anytime you form a social group from unfamiliar individuals. They are exciting because chimps are social creatures, and they benefit greatly from living in groups, especially groups that are large and diverse. And they are terrifying because chimpanzees can be incredibly aggressive and they don’t always welcome new members with open arms.

web Foxie teeth troll_MG_8035

As many of you know, Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest is in the process of expanding. Our plan is to add a new wing to the facility to accommodate an additional group, but we also hope to add new members to the Cle Elum Seven family. So what can we expect when we introduce new chimps to this group that has been together for nearly a decade?

Let’s start with the good news. According to the literature, over 85% of documented introductions have been successful. In studies like these, an introduction is considered a success when a chimp is integrated into the group and remains there for at least one to two months.

Now, the bad news. Even when introductions are successful, the process can be ugly. How ugly? Let me explain it this way: the introduction protocol from a progressive and reputable zoo recommends that introductions be stopped immediately only in cases of “severe injuries that impede locomotion, loss of limb function, severe gaping wounds with bone(s) exposed, severe blood loss, [or] compromised state of consciousness.” According to the same document, a discussion about stopping the introduction may be warranted in situations of “extreme fatigue or severe loss of appetite, relentless pursuit of an individual such that the individual can’t eat, sleep, etc…[or] mental shutdown.”

Imagine if we applied these criteria to humans…

How was Billy’s first day of school?

Well, Ricky bit half of his ear off, the other kids chased him up and down the hallway all morning, and he got trapped at the top of the jungle gym for an hour during recess by a raging hoard of 6-year-olds, but by lunchtime they allowed him come down and eat a few tater tots off the floor. So, all in all, things are going pretty well!

The thing is, chimps are not humans, and we need to judge their interactions by a different standard. It’s not as cold and heartless as it may seem because if we separated them at the first sign of aggression, there would be very few chimps living in groups. The Cle Elum Seven are a good example of this. They’re all missing bits and pieces of ears, fingers, and toes from fights during their time in the lab and here at the sanctuary. But by and large, they’ve learned to get along, and they’ll do the same when it comes time to add someone new to the mix.

Despite all the fighting and potential for injury, chimps will usually work things out if we allow them to. And when they do, they get to take back a little piece of the life they should have known in the wild.

web four chimps on YH bamboo IMG_2193

Filed Under: Chimpanzee Behavior Tagged With: chimpanzee, group formation, introductions, northwest, rescue, Sanctuary, social

The other side

September 19, 2015 by Diana

It would be easy to compare groups of chimpanzees to the mafia. Or to middle school cliques, for that matter.

Sometimes I worry that we don’t talk enough about this side of chimpanzees.

The side that may seem to contradict the gentle, curious, charming, loving moments, like these photos I took today of Foxie, Burrito, and Missy grooming:

Foxie and Burrito grooming

Missy, Burrito, and Foxie grooming

 

Or this photo of Foxie with a Dora doll, out exploring the hill:

Foxie holding dora

 

It is absolutely the truth that chimpanzees are caring, loving, warm, goofy, playful, and amazing. And it is absolutely the truth that chimpanzees are brutal, violent, scheming, and dangerous. Often, it is the very bonds that they exhibit with one another that is the flip side of their capacity for violence.

It’s just like humans, when you think about it.

We, like them, constantly separate ourselves into groups – whether the group is a biological family, a mob family, a nation, or a preteen clique. This separation, by definition, means there are those in the group, and then there are those out of the group.

Humans, like chimpanzees and other primates, develop a loyalty to our chosen or assigned group – a need to protect the group from outsiders or any potential harm and a drive to defend our collective territory and resources.

In many ways, I admire this when I observe it in the chimpanzees at the sanctuary. Take Missy, for example. You might not know this, but this 100 pound petite goofball of a chimpanzee can be extremely intimidating:

Missy cool bridge

Missy will defend her group, and Jamie, the group leader, like no one I’ve seen before. When the chimpanzees first arrived in 2008, the humans were definitely the out-group, and Missy reminded us of this frequently. If we attempted (innocently) to pick up dropped food on our side of the caging, Missy would come flying out of nowhere, land directly in front of our face clinging to the caging, scream, and shake the steel. The other chimpanzees would immediately back her up and join in by threat barking and screaming and sometimes spitting water (Jody would almost always go to a fountain and get a huge mouthful of water).

It wasn’t a good feeling when this happened, but I felt it was good sign. First of all – these seven chimpanzees  had every right to hate humans. They didn’t hate us, but they certainly had that right based on their past treatment by our species. Second – it really illustrated how solid they were as a group, and these instances probably helped them feel more united in this strange new home.

Missy rarely jumps at us these days. After a few months or maybe a year or so, she seemed to feel less threatened by us. I pick up food in front of her and Jamie all the time, and she now knows I’m just going to give it to her once I pick it up. Plus I’ve learned on an individual basis what each of the chimpanzees is comfortable with, and what they aren’t.

New caregivers have to be more cautious. Trust is not automatic – it has to be earned between primates. And caregivers have to always be on our toes. I know plenty of humans who have been injured by chimpanzees; it happens in a fraction of a second.

We have many rules in place and a very extensive training period for new caregivers. Our basic philosophy is to never put ourselves in a place or position where we can be hurt.

We have a deep respect for each of the chimpanzees – all sides of them, and it’s not our job to try to fit them into our rules of behavior, but rather to respect theirs.

 

Filed Under: Chimpanzee Behavior, Foxie, Friendship, Intelligence, Missy, Sanctuary, Volunteers Tagged With: chimp, chimpanzee, csnw, dominance, in group, nature, northwest, out group, Sanctuary, social, threat

At the center of everything

February 20, 2015 by J.B.

If you were to diagram the relationships between the chimps at CSNW, Foxie would be the one point at the center that connects everyone together.

She is by far the best friend that Jody has. The two like to take morning walks around Young’s Hill together and play gentle tickling and wrestling games while lying on their backs. When Jody is upset, Foxie is there to comfort her.

web_Foxie_with_troll_on_back_jody_walk_bamboo_YH_jb_IMG_4654

She is one of Missy’s favorite play partners, and one of the few that can keep up with Missy’s breakneck pace.

web1_Foxie big playface sock around neck Missy standing up_MG_8225

And while she got off to a rocky start with Annie, the two have come to understand each other better in the last couple of years and these days it’s not uncommon for them to play together or spend time with each other surveying the valley below Young’s Hill.

web_Foxie_and_Annie_on_platform_pasture_in_background_trolls_YH_jb_IMG_6529

Foxie is one of the only chimps that can get Jamie to let down her guard and play. If it weren’t for Foxie, Jamie would never get a break from being bossy. And that, frankly, wouldn’t be good for anyone.

web_Jamie_Foxie_play_playface_wrestle_PR_ek_IMG_2108

To be Negra’s friend, you have to learn to go at her speed. Foxie can groom quietly with Negra, but she also gets Negra to let loose once and a while. She does this by inviting her to play with big, exaggerated play gestures, knowing that she has to be clear with Negra and ensure that Negra still wants to play along at every step of the way. This gentle and understanding approach has really helped Negra come out of her shell.

web negra foxie groom cute greenhouse GH IMG_9848

And I don’t know where Burrito would be without his 90-lb bodyguard. Whenever Burrito gets himself into trouble, she is there, trolls in hand, and ready to place herself in harm’s way to defend him.

web_Foxie_troll_Burrito_walk_YH_jb_IMG_4405

Primatologists often refer to a primate’s political skills as “Machiavellian intelligence.” Chimps with a high level of Machiavellian intelligence are able to work social relationships to their advantage. They form alliances and exchange favors in an effort to climb the social ladder. If I didn’t know her better, I might think that Foxie is a Machiavellian genius, the way that she has won everyone over. But I don’t think she has a cynical or manipulative bone in her body. She just likes everyone and wants everybody to get along. And they, in turn, like her. How could you not?

Nature documentaries tend to focus on the alpha males, and in many human societies, we deify the powerful. But behind all the brash, dominant types hogging the spotlight, there’s usually someone like Foxie holding everything together.

If anyone deserves our admiration, it’s her.

web_Foxie_close_up_FR3_jb_IMG_2996

Filed Under: Foxie, Friendship, Sanctuary Tagged With: chimpanzee, Foxie, friends, intelligence, machiavellian, northwest, rescue, Sanctuary, social

Groomin’ on a Sunday Afternoon

March 3, 2012 by Diana

Okay, it’s not really Sunday, but I couldn’t help myself with the title.

We’ve talked about how important grooming is within chimpanzee society before (see this blog post from 2010 and this one from last year and you might as well check out this one about conflict and reassurance).

My favorite grooming to watch between chimps is when it’s a lazy afternoon and everything is calm and quiet. One chimpanzee will approach another chimp who is lying down or just sitting and chilling and start casually grooming them. The chimps often do their lazy grooming on the top of the climbing structure in the greenhouse. Often there are multiple partners grooming separately and sometimes they’ll move to a new partner or create a group of three or more chimps all grooming each other.

Below are some pics of Foxie grooming Burrito.

Foxie separates the hair on Burrito’s back with her fingers:

Foxie grooming Burrito with her hand

 

Foxie using her prehensile lips to groom Burrito (see this video with some other prehensile lip action):

Foxie grooms Burrito with her lips

Foxie grooms Burrito with lip 2

 

Foxie becoming distracted from her grooming by the troll doll in her hand:

Foxie hold troll doll up close

Filed Under: Burrito, Chimpanzee Behavior, Foxie, Grooming Tagged With: Burrito, chimp, chimpanzee, csnw, Foxie, friendship, Grooming, northwest, photos, Sanctuary, social, society

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